1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an intrauterine contraceptive device comprising at least two flexible arms, extending from a central point.
2. Description of the Related Art
A great variety of mechanical methods of fertility control and of the prevention of pregnancy is known. Is has been known for decades that a foreign object in the virtual cavum uteri is able to prevent conception.
Departing from the basic idea, a large number of different intrauterine contraceptive devices, also called IUDs, have been suggested and applied in practice.
Although these IUDs are effective with regard to controlling or preventing pregnancy, they also have a number of important disadvantages. It has been shown that about 85% of the complaints of side effects of such IUDs relate to bleeding and pain.
There is therefore an ever increasing need for IUDs whereby the above-mentioned disadvantages can be limited to a minimum or completely eliminated. An important advantage would then be that the IUDs can remain much longer inside the uterus with less discomfort for the patient.
At present there is a tendency to give more attention to IUDs with improved properties, as the increase in births in many parts of the world has arrived at a critical stage.
It should be noted that IUDs have already been in use for 30 years, during which 30 years they have been changed many times. The most significant development was the use of copper, which has been proven to have a good anti-fertility effect. Another significant development is the reduction of the size of the IUD's synthetic body because the copper has taken over the anti-fertility activity.
The first IUDs in general use, for instance the Lippes loop, were large filling the uterus. A frequent disadvantage of the large IUDs was that they caused bleeding and pain and therefore often had to be removed in the interim. Research in the sixties and seventies carried out among others by bodies such as the Population Council and the IFRP, has shown that the cause of bleeding and pain was linked to the size of the IUD, with the result that in a great number of cases such large IUDs had to be removed prematurely.
The discovery of copper as anti-fertility means made it possible to make the IUDs much smaller in volume, without reducing the contraceptive effect.
Recent IUD developments point in the direction of extensive size reduction of the IUD in order to further limit or to eliminate bleeding and pain, in order to thus promote the acceptability of the IUDs.
Some of these developments comprise fundally fixed IUDs, whereby the IUD is attached to the uterus fundus. However, these IUDs have the disadvantage associated with the mechanism for attaching the IUD to the fundus. Thus, pain and bleeding can again occur.
The copper intrauterine contraceptive device was developed and resulted in a unique approach in reducing the size of the IUD in order to limit bleeding and pain (the two most occurring reasons why the IUD has to be removed prematurely) to a minimum, while at the same time maintaining a high level of protection against pregnancy.